Again the wisdom and intrigue in my grandson’s responses. It is why I thoroughly believe young children are best paired with an older person, hopefully a grand parent whenever possible and available. And their time can be best alone together for the most part, because their interactions can be so genuine and familiar to both their fragile ages, when left to their natural state unobserved.

I was calling his name toward the back of his head and although he was only a few feet in front of me, he was totally engrossed with the truck he was running through a pile of dirt at that moment. I repeated his name, this time with more volume and adding somewhat lightly “Can you hear me, or are you deaf?”

“I’m deaf” was his calm, quick response, without turning his head toward me although I had clearly, repeatedly been asking for his full attention. Obviously he had heard me, though I am not sure he even knew what the word deaf meant at that moment. He may well have been merely playing my words back to me, stalling for time. I had to laugh and admire his creativity in the moment. How often do we do the same thing, especially if we think God is trying to get our attention and we are otherwise occupied with our own great ideas? It’s another version of the fingers in the ears, ‘lalalala, I can’t hear you’, but this seemed a bit more respectful. Neither diversions actually work, but nice try little guy.

I was reading a bit later in Jeremiah32:33 NIV: “They turned their backs to me and not their faces; though I taught them again and again, they would not listen or respond to discipline.”